In two years, they’ve helped UCI win two NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships.

This year, both seniors made the NCAA All-Tournament team. Tillie is a two-time All-American outside hitter.

So, what’s next for this dynamic duo?

Both players said they are hoping to make that next step that most successful amateur athletes do in their sport — go pro.

“I’ve got a lot of things on the table either playing indoor overseas or beach volleyball domestically,” said Austin, the 21-year-old setter for the Anteaters.

The 6-foot-6-inch Tillie wants to join the French men’s national team, where his father, Laurent Tillie, is head coach.

“They are already practicing right now for the World League, which is in June and July, and my dad said, ‘You can’t leave without graduating,’ so I can’t do anything,” said Tillie, who is originally from Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. “All I want to do is represent my country.”

While most talented athletes in the four major sports in the United States would be preparing to get drafted or make a team in the professional ranks after their collegiate career, American volleyball players don’t have that luxury. Despite the sport’s popularity, especially on the West Coast, there’s no professional indoor volleyball league in the United States.

The only two options for collegiate volleyball players to further their career is to either head overseas to Europe, Asia or South America, or make a transition to beach volleyball.

Beach volleyball players have to rely on sponsorship and tournament wins to earn money.

For indoor leagues overseas, players earn a salary anywhere from the mid-five digits to high six figures, said Christopher PeÃ±a, the director of men’s placement for Bring It promotions, an international volleyball talent agency. Top players in the world can earn as much as $2 million a season.

Every year, about 30 men’s college volleyball players head overseas to play professionally.

PeÃ±a said he represents about 35 to 40 volleyball players around the world, including UCI alums Jayson Jablonsky and David Smith.

Jablonsky has spent time playing in Puerto Rico, Greece, Italy and later this year will join Smith, who plays for French Cup Champion Tours in France’s A League.

“I don’t really like to discuss money with potential clients, I always like to identify their goals first,” said PeÃ±a, who is based in the Netherlands. “When Americans play overseas, 95 percent of the time it’s a tool for their future, not a retirement plan.”

PeÃ±a said the key for American players making the leap to play professionally is to be humble, practice patience and be flexible.

“The most common mistake athletes make is they rely on their accomplishments in the NCAA and believe every person in the world knows who they are and what they are capable of,” PeÃ±a said. “The reality is a lot of international coaches don’t know who these players are unless they have a point of reference.”

There’s an adjustment period, too, he said. The style of play is faster and technical.

Some volleyball players have never left Southern California and have to adjust to living in a cold European country like Finland or Norway.

“This may look glamorous on paper but be ready to grind, be ready to be professional, and most importantly, be respectful. You are a guest. This is their home,” PeÃ±a said.

For Tillie, it seems his path is already clear. An outstanding outside hitter for the Anteaters, Tillie plans to join the French men’s national team and, with the help of his father, hire an agent to shop him around to professional teams in France.

His main goal, he said, is to help the French team qualify for the Olympics and win a medal.

The last time France competed in the Olympics was in 2004. They’ve never won a medal.

“That is my ultimate goal. I want to win a medal,” Tillie said. “My dad played in two Olympics in 1988 and 1992. They didn’t win.”

Austin is taking a different road.

Usually the only minority on his team, Austin became the first African American setter to lead his team to a national championship.

He was highly recruited out of college but cut at the University of Hawai’i. He took the junior college route before landing at UC Irvine.

Still debating on whether he should continue to play indoor volleyball, make the transition to beach volleyball or just focus on becoming a coach, Austin said that regardless, he’s ready to take his game to the next level.

“I’ve experienced enough to know what it takes to be the best, and lots of times my motivation has come from people doubting me and telling me I can’t do stuff,” he said.

“You have to prove that you’re the best and that has always been my mission.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.